Baking sourdough loaves requires patience & a bit of dedication, but the results are well worth it. A sourdough starter needs to be made 2 - 3 days in advance of making the bread therefore it is not a "I think I'll make some bread now" recipe. Below are the recipes for "White" Sourdough, "Wholemeal" Sourdough & Seeded Sourdough.

Combine the ingredients (Thermomix, stab blender, Hand held beater, Stand mixer) listed for the Sour Dough Starter. Transfer dough to a container/bowl large enough to contain the fermenting dough with plenty of room for expansion (the first time I did it the dough overflowed). Loosely cover the bowl with a damp teatowel or plastic clingwrap & leave to ferment for 2 - 3 days in a warm spot. Stir the Sour Dough Starter once a day.

Once the Sour Dough Starter is made it can be used in the recipes below. If there is starter left over or you want to keep the starter going it will require feeding every day. Feed it with Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour, a little sugar & water, the amount that needs to be added will depend on how much of the original starter is left. If you haven't used any of the starter add in 170 g of Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour, 1 tsp of sugar & 360 g warm water - this is half of the amount of the ingredients used in the original starter. If you have 1/2 of the starter remaining, feed it with 85 g of Bakers' Magic Gluten free flour, 1/2 tsp of sugar & 180 g of warm water.

Unsure of what to do with some of the remaining sourdough starter - try the recipe for Herman the German Cake.

* The amount of water added will vary depending on what sort of loaf you want. 500 g of the sourdough starter contains ~330 g of water, at a minimum you will need to add 75 g. If 75 g is added the hydration percentage will be 90% (a dense bread).

# Rice Bran syrup can be interchanged with other sugars.

Are you going to proof the dough in your oven or in another warm spot? If proofing in your oven turn oven to ~50 C for approximately 10 mins then turn it off again.

Lightly oil a heavy duty loaf baking tin. The baking tin will need to be seasoned if using it for the first time, otherwise the bread will stick to the sides.

Thermomix

Place all ingredients in the TM bowl.

Mix @ 37o C for 2.5 mins at speed 4.

Ensure all ingredients are incorporated. If not, scrape down the sides and briefly mix again.

Stand Mixer

Combine ingredients using the flat beater until a uniform consistency is achieved. You may need to stop the mixer and scrap down the sides. This make take longer than 5 mins.

Both Methods

The dough is ready for proofing. If you want to sprinkle some sesame seeds on top now is the time to do it.

Let the dough proof for approximately 30 mins in a warm moist environment. Turn your oven on to 200 C.

If you are proofing in your oven put on the timer for ~20 mins. When the time is up take the proofing bread out of the oven and turn the oven up to 200 C. The 20 mins is an estimate it will depend on how long it takes your oven to reach 200 C.

Before putting it in the oven ensure that the dough has risen ~2X. Sourdough loaves may need a bit more time to proof.

Bake at 200 C for ~50 mins, the time will vary depending on the individual oven. If your oven has a hot spot turn the bread halfway through baking.

Take out of the oven & cool the bread on a cooling rack (take it out of the baking tin). The bread should slide out of the baking tin. If it doesn't don't force it out, wait until it cools.

* The amount of water added will vary depending on what sort of loaf you want. 500 g of the sourdough starter contains ~330 g of water, at a minimum you will need to add 290 g for this wholemeal recipe. To bake bread with a similar texture/crumb to that of the "normal" wholemeal add 410 g of water.

* The amount of water added will vary depending on what sort of loaf you want. 500 g of the sourdough starter contains ~330 g of water. To bake bread with a similar texture/crumb to that of the "normal" wholegrain add 280 g of water.